Catching On
by IamDragonFury
Summary: Finn & Jake discover that Flame Princess has a new man and try to find out who it is with help from PB, who reacts oddly to the revelation. Also, Flame Princess's courtship with Water Prince is endangered when her cousins catch on, urging her to go to great extents to protect her prince. Mostly TIDALFLAME! Don't like, don't read/review!
1. Chapter 1

Catching On

Chapter 1

It's time.

* * *

On an overcast, but warm day, Flame Princess was in her fiery home, sitting on her bed and writing in her journal. It was not a journal meant for keeping all of her secrets, it was merely for documenting her greatest secret ever. In her journal she detailed her entire relationship with Water Prince and all the adventure and joy it has brought her.

"There," she said, "another page filled."

She was currently waiting for Water Prince to come by so they could go hang out at the Mountain Kingdom. Just like Flame Prince and Water Princess, they hung out there because they had less of a chance of burning of drowning anything.

"Hey, Flame Princess." a voice said suddenly.

Flame Princess looked to her doorway and saw Finn and Jake standing right outside.

"Oh," she gasped, quickly closing her journal, "hey guys, what's up?"

She stood up and pushed her journal out of sight.

"We just stopped by to see how you're doing." Jake said.

"Yeah," Finn added, "we haven't seen you in a while, so we were just curious."

"Oh I'm great," Flame Princess said sincerely, while trying to avoid letting onto anything, "I've just been having the time of my life."

"Oh," Finn replied, "so you've been having fun and junk?"

"Yes," Flame Princess said in return, "and how about you? Did my little arrangement work out as we hoped it would?" Referring to how she intentionally got Finn and Marceline together.

Finn turn red and smiled.

"Yeah," he said meekly, "Marcy said in four years, if we're both still up for it, she'll turn me into a vampire."

"Whoo!" Flame Princess cheered.

Just then, she looked passed Finn and Jake and her eyes widened when she saw Water Prince approaching, but he stopped when he saw FP's visitors.

"What's wrong, FP?" Finn asked, seeing her space off.

"Oh nothing," Flame Princess answered quickly, "it's just so nice to see friends _come back around_." Emphasizing the last to both sincerely answer her Ex and subtly tell Water Prince to fall back and circle around to the back of her house.

"Well it was nice of you to help me find someone else after..." Finn responded, trailing off as he tried to avoid bringing up the past, "you get it."

"Great;" Flame Princess said, "look guys, I'm expecting some company, so you'll have to go, but I'll see you when I get back."

"All right then." Finn replied.

Then they left.

As soon as they were gone, FP went back into her house and looked out her back window, where Water Prince was crouched on the ground.

"Sorry, hon," she sighed, "they dropped by unannounced."

"Oh," Water Prince replied, "was that your most recent Ex?"

"Yeah," Flame Princess said, "he was just saying hi, but I'm ready to go if you are."

"Okay." Water Prince said.

"Now let's go, before someone sees us!" she said eagerly.

She climbed out her window, inadvertently knocking her journal off of her bed.

Flame Princess grabbed Water Prince's hand and they ran off toward the Mountain Kingdom together.

Meanwhile, Finn and Jake were walking back through the woods.

"What do you think FP meant when she said she was expecting company?" Finn wondered.

"I don't know," Jake replied, "maybe she was getting a visit from a family member or something."

"Well it couldn't be her dad," Finn said, "she never associates with him anymore."

"We could go see." Jake stated.

"You mean spy?" Finn asked.

"Not really spying," Jake offered, "it's merely curious investigating from afar."

"If you say so." Finn said in return.

Then they began to make their way towards Flame Princess's house, unaware that she was not there.

* * *

All right, more to come later.

I'm so glad I started this, I can't wait to get more up.


	2. Chapter 2

Catching On

Chapter 2

Continuing, so excited!

* * *

Flame Princess and Water Prince had made it to the Mountain Kingdom, where they proceeded to test their strength by unleashing their power on giant boulders, cliffs, and stone formations.

"Look what I can do." Flame Princess stated.

With a swift hand movement, she formed a fire whip in her hand and thrust it repeatedly against a stalagmite until it was nothing but pebbles.

"My turn." Water Prince said.

He made quick, motion with both hands, sending a powerful, vertical line of water at a tall rock formation, which split in half, like a blade going through wood.

"Whooooo!" Flame Princess hollered proudly.

"Thank you," Water Prince laughed, "thank you."

"Now watch this!" Flame Princess uttered eagerly.

She shot small, but powerful pulses of flame from her fingers, like bullets from a gun, at a tall stone formation from top to bottom, reducing to dust.

"Impressive as always," Water Prince responded, "now behold the power of H2O!"

Water Prince moved his hands in a circular motion, forming a large sphere of water in his hands, then he projected it at a massive boulder, making it virtually explode.

Flame Princess looked on in awe.

"Ah," she sighed, repressing tears of joy, "such glorious, yet responsible, destruction. It's amazing!" Then she looked loving at Water Prince and added, "_You're_ amazing!"

"I'm okay," Water Prince replied humbly, "you're the one who...amazing."

"'Nuff talk, more kiss!" Flame Princess uttered.

She pulled her prince close and kissed him firmly on the mouth, like always, their skin sizzling and making steam on contact. Everytime they kissed, Flame Princess never wanted to stop, knowing that she could touch her Water Prince without protection and kiss him without her physical matrix acting up. It just gave her the greatest feeling no one could possibly understand or experience. Though, she was pretty sure Flame Prince experienced the same when he kissed Water Princess, however, he never had to worry, because his physical matrix was perfectly stable. There was no telling why this was, she had a theory, but she was afraid to express it, for the fear that it would sound sexist.

If it were possible, she would just kiss the Water Prince forever. Unfortunately, they were interrupted, as Flame Princess suddenly heard a noise, leading her to pull away from the prince.

"What's wrong?" Water Prince asked, "Were you expecting some tongue?"

"Not that," FP said quietly, "I heard something."

She held her hand up to make Water Prince remain silence and listened closely, she soon realized that what she heard was voices. She was sure she heard one call her name, which made her tense.

"Hide," she instructed Water Prince firmly, getting in a defensive stance, "I'll handle this."

"But..." Water Prince tried to protest.

"I swear I recognize those voices," Flame Princess insisted, "trust me, you _cannot _be seen here with me."

"Let me know if you need me." Water Prince said before hiding himself in the crevice of a nearby stone formation.

Flame Princess stood with her flames ready as the voices got closer.

**~Meanwhile~**

Finn and Jake made it back to Flame Princess's house, curious about the company she had claimed to be waiting for. However, when they got there, they found that she was not there.

"Huh," Jake said, "looks like she went somewhere."

"But we were_ just_ here not too long ago," Finn said, "she would've had to have left right when _we_ left."

Just then the wind picked up and blew through FP's house, causing one of her journal pages that, unbeknownst to her fell out of the journal when it hit the ground to be blown outside, where it landed on the ground right in front of the duo.

"Hey look," Finn pointed out, "that came out of FP's house."

Jake picked up the piece of paper and looked at it.

"Jake, don't look at that," Finn said, "it might be private."

The dog read the page and his eye grew wider and wider with every line.

"Whooooaaaa..." Jake gasped.

"What is it?" Finn asked.

"Dude...read this." Jake said in shock.

He handed the page over to Finn, who proceeded to read it. The page read:

"_To my journal, _

_These last several months have been the best I've ever had._

_Never has anyone made me feel so happy, so complete, never._

_For real, this prince, is a blessing, a grodsend, like an angel from the divine regions._

_He's unlike anyone I've ever know or ever been with, _

_and I thank Flame Prince for bringing him to me._

_It's just so liberating to finally be with someone,_

_Someone I can touch without burning and kiss without my physical matrix being set off._

_To be able to hold and kiss someone who doesn't burn or melt has brought me to a level of happiness I never thought I'd ever reach._

_I just wish I could tell all my friends, especially Finn, _

_but I fear the reactions and the outcome._

_Plus, it's hard to tell who will be able to handle the news, and who can be trusted with such a harrowing secret._

_The multiple scenarios and the secrecy aside, _

_it pays when you'll do anything to keep the love of your life._

_- Flame Princess_"

Finn stared awestruck at the pages.

"Whoa." he muttered.

"Flame Princess has a new boyfriend, and from what I can tell here, no doubt she's _in love_." Jake said.

"Yeah," Finn replied, "she's sounds really happy from what can be seen here, but why the secrecy, why is she afraid to tell us, especially me, I mean, when we...quit...and she found someone else for me, naturally I assumed she would find someone else too. We wanted her tobe happy, right?"

"Yeah man," Jake said, "he's our friend, and we want our friends to be happy."

"I wish we knew who it was she's with," Finn said, "but she didn't mention him by name on this page, and we can't go into her house, whether we want to or not, because we'll burn."

They thought for a moment.

"The guy is a prince, and apparently can't burn." Jake mused.

"And she can kiss hm without blowing up." Finn thought, "We just gotta narrow his down, it's not Flame Prince, according to the page he brought the guy to her."

They continued thinking.

"Let's go ask PB," Jake said, "she could narrow it down."

"Yeah," Finn said in return, "she knows all the royals."

So the two then set out for the Candy Kingdom.

* * *

Big stuff to come next, just wait.


	3. Chapter 3

Catching On

Chapter 3

More stuff, things will pick up.

* * *

Flame Princess geared up here fire in defense, while Water Prince remained hidden, as she heard someone approaching. Soon the approaching figures made themselves known, Flame Princess over heated displeasedly upon recognizing the crashers. It was her cousins Furnius and Torcho, the sons of her deceased uncle.

Being trapped inside the lamp she was in or so long, she never had the chance to socialize with her extended family much, but she knew enough about her cousins to hate them entirely. It was not because they tried to kill her dad, it was more so because they had always been causing trouble in te Fire Kingdom and when she was trapped in that lamp she could not do anything about. But now, there was nothing stopping her if she did want to hurt them.

"You two?" Flame Princess growled, her flames pulsating intensely, "What are you doing here?"

"We just wanted to check in on our favorite cousssin," Furnius said crookedly with his notable hissing voice inflection, "ssseeing as you haven't been back to the Fire Kingdom sssince the day you left, we were just curiousss as to what you've been up to..."

"I'm not telling you anything about me or my dad," Flame Princess said bluntly, "you two are nothing but fiery wretches!"

"Look at how vicious she's behaving, Torcho." Furnius jested.

"So hostile, even more than she's ever been." Torcho bantered.

"Go away!" Flame Princess snarled, "Before I throw yo into the nearest lake!

"The question isss," Torcho continued leerily, "why, oh why Princess, are you so defensive?"

"Do you hide sssomething, cousssin?" Furnius questioned.

"No!" Flame Princess yelled irefully, "I'm angry and defensive, because I have to stand here dealing with two of my least favorite Flame People!"

"We saw you on your way here." Torcho stated.

"It looked like you were with sssomeone," Furnius added, "a guy."

"So?" FP replied, trying to block the way behind her with her flames.

"Sssooo could thisss indicate that the Flame Princessss has a new, non-fiery, flame?" Furnius questioned.

"First off, my life is my business!" Flame Princess yelled, "Second, you can't prove anything!"

"No," Furnius replied, "I sssuppose we can't..."

"Yet." Torcho added.

"So what if that is case?" Flame Princess questioned, "Are you gonna tell my dad? Because I really don't care."

"Not even close," Torcho answered, "but you'll see."

"Leave." FP replied flatly.

"We will," Furnius said, "but jussst remember cousssin, we'll be watching you."

Then they left.

Flame Princess waited about a minute after her cousins were gone to alert Water Prince.

"What was that about?" Water Prince asked.

"We're gonna have to remain incognito for a while it looks like." FP told him.

**~Candy Kingdom~**

Finn and Jake made it to Princess Bubblegum's castle, hoping she could help them solve the mystery behind Flame Princess's new relationship.

Peppermint Butler let them in.

"The Princess is in her lab." he informed them.

"Thanks Peppler." Finn replied.

Princess Bubblegum was in her lab, looking at some candy bacteria under a microscope, when Finn and Jake came in.

"Knock knock." Jake said opening the door.

"Oh, hey guys," PB responded, "what's up?"

"Are you busy?" Finn asked.

"Not really," Bubblegum said, "why?"

"Well, we just stopped by Flame Princess's house," Jake said, "but she wasn't home."

"However," Finn continued, "we found something...interesting."

"Do tell." Bubblegum replied.

Finn took another look at the piece of paper from FP's house.

"Well we found evidence that Flame Princess has a new boyfriend and..." he began to explain.

"What!?" Bubblegum responded, "Let me see that!"

She snatched the paper from Finn and proceeded to read it intently.

"Well we know you know nearly every royal around, so we thought you could..." Jake said.

"Rankastic!" Bubblegum swore.

The outburst caught the visiting duo off guard.

"Whoa!" Finn responded, "What's wrong?"

Bubblegum shook crossly for a moment.

"Nothing," she sighed, "why are you showing me this?"

"Well," Finn voiced, "we figured since you know a whole lotta royals, you could maybe help us figure this out."

"Of course," PB groaned, sounding oddly bitter, "I'm always the last one to know, and I have to be the one who has to break it down."

"Well," Jake replied, "if you don't wanna..."

"Oh no," Bubblegum uttered, "this happened again and I didn't know about it? I am getting to th bottom of this, now get out, I have research to do!" She pushed them out of the lab and slammed the door.

Finn and Jake stood there, looking on in utter confusion.

"What...just happened?" Finn wondered.

* * *

More to come eventually.


	4. Chapter 4

Catching On

Chapter 4

Continuing on with what I hoe will turn out to be a decent story.

* * *

"You promise to take good care of the kingdom while I'm gone?" Water Prince asked Ocean Prince.

Since he and Flame Princess had to go covert for a while, he asked Ocean Prince to keep an eye on his kingdom while he was gone.

"I promise," Ocean Prince assured him, "the kingdom, the castle, the people will all be safe and sound with me."

"Good," Water Prince replied gratefully, "that's all that matters."

"Maelstrom," the merman prince wondered, "what exactly is going on, why are you leaving? Is something wrong? You can tell me, I promise not to tell anyone else."

"It's a long story, Thalassius," Water Prince sighed, "I'd rather not get anyone else involved in this."

"Okay then," Ocean Prince replied dismally, "be safe, where ever you're going."

Elsewhere, Flame Princess asked Flame Prince to keep an eye on her house, and to keep anyone else they knew from getting involved.

"Do you really think going into hiding is necessary?" Flame Prince asked Flame Princess.

"What else can I do?" the Fire Princess voiced, "I can't stay around here if my cousins are gonna be spying on me, it's not safe for anyone, especially not Water Prince, and I refuse to let his safety be at risk over my cousins stupid revenge intent towards my dad."

"Understandable," Flame Prince replied, "but why not just get help from your friends? Finn and Jake could take care of those two."

Flame Princess's fire suddenly started burning more intensely.

"Don't you get it!?" the Fire Princess uttered emotionally, "My cousins are looking for any opportunity they can to use me against my dad! I don't blame them for wanting to kill my dad, hell, _I'd_ kill him if I could, but I refuse to get involved with it! And I don't want anyone I care about to get involved either! Not Water Prince, not you, not Finn, not anyone!"

The Fire Prince looked on commiseratively.

"I'm just doing what I think is right." Flame Princess said forlornly.

"Whatever you say," Flame Prince sighed, "do whatever you need to do, I'll hold down the fort."

"That's all I ask." the Fire Princess said in return.

Then she left, while Flame Prince waved after her with a desolate look.

Flame Princess met up with Water Prince in the forest.

"Ready to go?" she asked.

"Yeah." he said solemnly.

Water Prince looked down at the ground dejectedly.

Flame Princess looked on remorsefully at her prince, she felt so bad that he had to leave his own kingdom just because of a feud amongst her family members. She reached up and lightly placed her fiery hands on his cool, moist face, causing the familiar sizzling sound and steam effect. Water Prince looked up and Flame Princess looked into his silvery eyes.

"Trust me," she said passionately, "everything is going to be _okay,_ and if it's not, then it's all on me. But you will be fine, _you _will be fine, I _swear_."

Water Prince smiled lovingly, reaching up and grabbing Flame Princess's hands with his own hands, tenderly pulling them from his face.

"I know," he said mildly, "I trust you."

Water Prince's words are what made her situation all the more tricky, it took her a while to gain his trust from the start, but trust is delicate and easily broken. Flame Princess could only hope for the best as they began their journey.

"Well," Flame Princess said, "I think we best get moving."

Water Prince nodded in response.

Then together, they sped off as separate trails of their own elements.

* * *

More eventually.


	5. Chapter 5

Catching On

Chapter 5

Still going.

I know I've said this before, but I'll say it again, because, due to recent comments, I fell obligated too. People, if you _DON'T _like the pairing the story is centered on, or any pairing mentioned in the story, then don't read/review it. Simple as that.

Okay, moving on.

* * *

It had been three days since Finn and Jake had last gone to the Candy Kingdom, having asked Princess Bubblegum to help them figure out who Flame Princess's new, secret boyfriend was. It had also been three days since they had last seen or heard from Flame Princess at all.

Currently, the duo was on their way to FP's house to see if she was there, but when they got there, they found that she was still gone and there was no sign of her being home recently.

"Should we be worried?" Finn wondered, "We haven't heard anything for the last few days."

"Why would you be worried about Flame Princess?" Jake replied, "She can survive on her own, she's made of _fire._"

"I get it." Finn said flatly.

"Well let's go check in with Bubblegum," Jake suggested, "maybe she's figured something out."

"Yeah, okay." Finn replied.

**~Candy Kingdom~**

Princess Bubblegum was in her bedroom, at her writing desk, writing and scribbling on a piece of paper, while muttering to herself.

It was not long before she heard knocking at her bedroom door.

"Come in." she said flatly.

Finn and Jake entered her room.

"Hey, Peebs," Finn asked, "what did you find out?

Bubblegum then looked confused.

"Find out?" she replied.

"You know, about Flame Princess's new man." Finn reminded her

Bubblegum had to think about it.

"Ohh...that," she said meekly, "well I...didn't really...find anything."

"You couldn't narrow it down?" Finn responded.

Bubblegum hung her head and looked on, abashed.

"Not...really...that," she said awkwardly, "I didn't...find anything...because I...didn't...really...look...into it."

The adventuring pair looked on even more confused.

"You didn't investigate at all?" Jake replied.

"Why not?" Finn wondered.

"Because...I didn't want to." Bubblegum stated, folding her arms and turning away.

"But we need to find out what's going on," Finn said urgently, "Flame Princess could be in trouble."

"Well then that's her problem now isn't it?" PB responded gruffly.

Her sudden change in attitude left the other two perplexed.

"Whoa!" Jake responded.

"What do you mean by that?" Finn questioned.

"She made her choice," Bubblegum said bluntly, "and if it results in a can of worms, then let her deal with it."

Now Finn was appalled.

"W-What? What are you talking about?" he voiced, "She's our friend, and friends have to help friends!"

"Close, _legit_ friends," Bubblegum responded, "I don't have to do anything!"

"You wouldn't be saying that if it were LSP, Lemongrab, or, Grod-frobid, Marceline!" Finn retorted.

"That's different, LSP has never caused me any problem and we can stand each other for long periods of time," Bubblegum expressed, "as for Lemongrab and Marceline, they're practically family, and family usually comes first...unless you're the Dream Prince...but, you get what I mean."

"But why?" Finn asked, bewildered by PB's sudden sour attitude.

"Yeah," Jake added, "what do you have against FP anyway?"

Bubblegum scowled and pouted as she thought about how to respond.

"Long story short," she stated, "we made a deal a long time ago and she did not uphold her half of it."

Finn and Jake looked on strangely for several seconds.

"I don't buy it." Jake said flatly.

"Yeah, something tells me there's a lot more behind than that." Finn added.

"Why do you care?" Bubblegum questioned, "I thought you were over Flame Princess."

"I am over her that way," Finn responded, "but this has nothing to do with that, this is about a _friend's _well-being, if she needs us, we need to help her."

"But, doesn't it bother you that she's going through all this trouble for some other guy and she wouldn't go through any trouble for you?" PB voiced.

Finn thought about it.

"I guess it is a little odd," Finn admitted, "but oh well, after we talked about it more, in the end we both agreed that our split was for the best. Now, it looks like _both of us_ have got our hearts set in new, better places."

"Yeah," Jake said, "doesn't Flame Princess deserve to be happy?"

"I never said she didn't," Bubblegum said, "she just has a habit of making other people _unhappy_."

The look on the princess's as she scowled on looked so implicative, it was not really a look of mere anger, but also hurt. She looked fairly aggrieved, with a look one would have if they had been betrayed.

"I'm sensing some deep, underlying unresolved conflict." Jake said.

"Yeah," Finn said, "explain yourself."

"Fine," Bubblegum sighed, "you know how I said a while back that I had Flame Princess locked up for a reason."

The adventuring pair listened closely.

"Well there's more to it;" Bubblegum explained, "back when I first set up the arrangement, Flame Princess and I agreed that if she ever got involved with another she would inform me and we would decide whether her new relationship, if any, would be possible, and if so we would take any precautionary measures that were needed so she could have a new relationship."

Finn and Jake looked at each other.

"But did that happen?" PB continued in an oddly emotionally tone, "No, _twice_ now she's had a new relationship and I was virtually the _last_ one to know, and the worst part is I had to find out from _someone else_!"

"That's it?" Jake responded.

Bubblegum pouted.

"What do you mean "that's it"?" she replied.

"I'm sorry," Jake expressed, "but that just doesn't sound like it should be a big deal, I mean she obviously figured it out by herself."

"That's not the point!" Bubblegum yelled, "The point is that she never told _me!_ I didn't find out from her, I had to find out from you guys!"

"Are you done?" Finn groaned, having heard enough of PB's hysterical ranting, which was getting them nowhere.

"Sure," PB said, "but I don't want any part of this."

"Fine;" Finn sighed, taking the journal page from Bubblegum, "come on, Jake, looks like we're on out own with this one."

Then they left.

When they were gone, Bubblegum sat down at her desk again, the situation running through her mind. All the while she wondered, "Who _could _it be, now?" PB then began to narrow down the possibilities in her head.

* * *

There, another chapter.

Next, I may pick back up with Flame Princess and Water Prince.


	6. Chapter 6

Catching On

Chapter 6

Moving on.

* * *

Thirty miles off the west coast of Aaa, Flame Princess and Water Prince were hiding out on an island called Kaalolii. Their new secret residence being a secluded cave, which would be safe from both of their elements, as it was all stone.

They got to their new hide out with the help of the Vampire Royals, Marceline and Marshall Lee. Currently, the Vampire Royals were the only one in their ally circle who knew about their inter-elemental relationship and they had been good on keeping it a secret and helping them out. Flame Princess felt that they were due to be paid back, someway.

Currently, Flame Princess was laying on the stone slab that served as a bed, wide awake, while Water Prince slept soundly beside her. The both of them had quickly acclimated to their new, temporary surroundings, but Flame Princess still wondered about what was going on back on Ooo. She wondered if anyone was worried about her or wondered where she was, she wondered if her cousins had found out anything new.

The Fire Princess just sighed aloud and looked to her left, the sight of her sleeping prince being enough to ease her worried mind. Flame Princess rolled over and put her arm around Water Prince's waist, nuzzling the side of his face tenderly as she felt the sizzling sensation of their touch. Water Prince did not wake up, his only reaction as a content sigh.

It was moments like these that Flame Princess hoped to have for as long as she lived; she knew that if she had too, which she most likely would, she would fight anything head on to make this life possible.

"My prince." the Fire Princess murmured as she slightly tightened her hold on Water Prince.

When Water Prince felt Flame Princess squeezing him closer and closer, he finally woke up.

The Water Prince glanced at the Fire Princess curiously.

"Hi." FP said innocently.

"You know," WP replied, "you don't have to squeeze so hard, I'm not going anywhere."

"I know," Flame Princess said meekly, "and that's why I don't wanna let go."

Water Prince smiled contentedly and went back to sleep, laying his head against Flame Princess's.

"_Of course_," Flame Princess thought as she stroked the aquatic prince's hair, "_this wouldn't be the first time someone said they weren't going anywhere_."

She remembered that long before Water Prince, before Finn, someone else promised to always be there for her, only to end up turning their back on her, which led to her spending a good portion of her life locked up in a lamp cage.

* * *

Finally, another chapter done.

Whether anyone likes this pairing or not, it's not going anywhere, not as long as I am shipping it.


	7. Chapter 7

Catching On

Chapter 7

Still going.

* * *

After witnessing PB have a mysterious outburst, Finn and Jake were on their way back to Flame Princess's house to look for more clues.

"What do you think had PB so...huffy?" Jake asked.

"I don't know," Finn said, "but I have a feeling there's more to it than Flame Princess's unstable body."

"Well the way she went on and on," Jake said, "it almost sounded like she was jealous or something."

"Jealous?" Finn replied, "Why would PB be jealous?"

They thought hard for a moment.

"Maybe...PB knows who Flame Princess is with, and maybe she liked him once, and she;s jealous the FP got him and she didn't." Jake said.

Finn looked at him strangely.

"Yeah...that actually doesn't really add up." Jake said.

"Well, I had a different theory," Finn voiced, "but I'll get to that later."

They made it to Flame Princess's house, and just as they did, the fire of the dwelling grew to an enormous size, revealing the Flame King's face.

"Aaahhh!" the adventuring duo screamed.

"Flame King!" Jake uttered.

The Flame King looked down at them, and glared.

"You two!" he bellowed, "Where is my daughter? Where is Flame Princess!?"

Finn and Jake huddled together tensely.

"We don't know," Finn responded, "we swear!"

"Liars!" Flame King yelled.

"But we don't know where she is," Finn affirmed, "that's what we've been trying to figure out ourselves."

"Well you two better find her," the Fire King declared, "or I'll be coming for you!"

With that, the Flame King was gone and the fire of Flame Princess's house shrank back to its normal size.

Finn and Jake stood there in shock for several seconds.

"We gotta find FP." Finn stated.

"But we have no leads." Jake said.

"She and Flame Prince hang out a lot, you know, they're like siblings," Finn said, "maybe she told him where she was going and why."

"Okay," Jake replied, "but where do we find him?"

Finn thought about it.

"I heard he spends a lot of time in the Mountain Kingdom." he said.

"Alright," Jake said, "then let's go there."

* * *

I know it's short, but I kept getting requests to update it.


	8. Chapter 8

Catching On

Chapter 8

Moving on.

* * *

Out in the Mountain Kingdom, Finn and Jake were looking for Flame Prince, hoping he would know where Flame Princess was. They knew he was always hanging around the Mountain Kingdom, but for what reason, nobody knew.

"He should be here somewhere." Finn said as they walked along.

Just then, they heard loud crackling noises; upon looking ahead, they saw flashes of light in the distance, indicating some source of fire.

"Well, that didn't take long." Jake said.

Meanwhile, Flame Prince was hanging out in his usual spot in the Mountain Kingdom, as always, with his woman, Water Princess.

"Again," Water Prince requested eagerly, "again, please?"

Flame Prince formed another sphere of fire in his hands and launched it at a nearby rock formation, making it virtually explode.

Water Princess squealed with delight and clapped her hands.

"Yes," Flame Prince said proudly, "yes, I am good."

Just then he heard someone calling his name.

"Uh oh." Flame Prince uttered.

"What is it?" Water Princess asked.

"Someone's coming," the Fire Prince said, "you better hide."

Water Princess moved herself behind the nearby rocks.

Just as she hid, Flame Prince was approached by Finn and Jake.

"Oh, they you are." Finn said.

"What are you guys doing here?" Flame Prince wondered.

"We were hoping you could tell us what's up with Flame Princess." Jake said.

"Or at least tell us where she is." Finn added.

Flame Prince was hesitant, mainly because he promised Flame Princess he would not tell anyone about what was happening. He was also concerned that Flame Princess's cousins could have been watching him, or all of them, trying to get information on her.

He knew that the only way out of it was with tactical speaking.

"I don't think I can say for sure," Flame Prince said, "but, you know who might be able to tell you something? Marceline and or Marshall Lee, and if you really want info, you will talk to the both of them _together_."

Finn and Jake looked at each other.

"Both of them, together?" Finn responded.

"Yes, together," Flame Prince stated, "that would be the most secure choice."

By this point, Finn started to comprehend that Flame Prince knew something big, but for some reason it would have been safer getting the 411 from the Vampire Royals, who apparently knew something as well. But why? He wondered, perhaps for safety reasons?

"Okay, I think I get it." Finn said.

"I don't." Jake whined.

"I'll explain it to you later," Finn said, "we'll just be going now."

"Right then," Flame Prince said, "be safe."

The adventurers left the Mountain Kingdom.

As soon as they were gone, Water Princess came out of hiding.

"Uh, darling," she asked, "what did you just do?"

Flame Prince pulled her close.

"I just set a brilliant trap." he whispered in her ear, then he whispered his full intention to her.

"Oh, Lucent," Water Princess replied playfully, "your so clever."

Meanwhile, Furnius and Torcho, who overhear Flame Prince's strategic wording, but were unaware of the intent behind, were convinced they had just gotten a break in their blackmail hunt.

"Other allies?" Torcho voiced, "What a surprise, but nonetheless, we must follow those two again."

"Are you sure about this?" Furnius wondered, "We don't even know who those two were that they were talking about."

"Who caresss what they are," Torcho scoffed, "we're Fire Elementals, what could be stronger than us?"

* * *

Surely someone can see where this is going.

Also, whoo! I graduated from High School today! Maybe now I'll have more time to write, that is, when I'm done going to everyone's grad parties and am done taking care of my own.


	9. Chapter 9

Catching On

Chapter 9

Moving On.

* * *

Ever since her argument with Finn and Jake, regarding Flame Princess's new situation, Bubblegum had not left her room. She had been busy go over every name of every prince she had heard of, wondering who Flame Princess could have possibly been dating now.

"No, no, no, no..." she muttered as she muttered as she crossed out names, "come one, think, who could it be now?"

Just then there was a knock at the princess's window, and she went to see who it was. She found that it was Marceline, so she opened the window.

"Hey." Marceline said.

"Hello." Bubblegum sighed dryly.

"What'd I do?" the Vampire Queen replied.

"Not you," PB said, "someone else."

Marceline flew inside.

"Yeah, I talked to the guards, they said you locked yourself in the room for over day now," she voiced, "what gives?"

Bubblegum sighed and sat back down at her desk.

"Let me guess," Marceline said, "you got dumped?"

"No," Bubblegum replied, "if that were the case, some collateral, chainsaw-based, damage woulda been done."

"So then what's the problem?" Marceline prompted.

She looked closer at the unhappy princess, and could see an angst that had been dormant for a long time now, but now it had resurfaced.

"Is it...is it Flame Princess?" the vampiress asked carefully.

Bubblegum closed her eyes and clenched her fists tightly, fighting the urge to scream her head off.

"Yep," Marceline sighed, "it's Flame Princess."

PB suddenly slammed her fists down on the desk, making its contents rattle.

"Yes," she uttered angrily, "it's Flame Princess! She has a new boyfriend, a _new _boyfriend, and Finn and Jake wanted me to help figure out who it was because Flame Princess has run off and they wanna know why she's keeping it a secret!"

"Oh, you heard about that?" Marceline responded awkwardly.

Bubblegum looked on in awe.

"Wha...you know too!?" she gasped.

"I may have heard something about it." Marceline stated.

"I suppose you know who the mystery man is too!" Bubblegum uttered.

Marceline did not say anything, she merely looked down with a hangdog expression.

"...Really?...Really!?" PB exclaimed emotionally, "You know who it is!? You know who she's with!? Why she ran off!?"

Marceline responded with a tense nod.

Bubblegum finally stopped repressing it and just started screaming at the top of her gummy lungs, "WHY!? WHY DO I ALWAYS HAVE TO BE THE LAST TO KNOW!? WHY DOES SHE DO THIS TO ME!? WHY DOES SHE HAVE TO GO TO SUCH AN EXTENT TO SPITE ME!? WHY!? WHY!?..."

PB continued yelling and screaming and whining, to an extent Marceline could not stand to see her in.

"Princess," Marceline said, trying to make her stop, "Bonnie, calm down!"

When Bubblegum would not stop and continued ranting and griping hysterically, the Vampire Queen finally had enough. She hissed and forcefully slapped the hysterical princess across her face. Bringing an abrupt end to her tantrum.

PB stood there with a dejected look on her tear-soaked face.

"Enough of that!" Marceline said firmly, "We both know what the _real _problem is, and it is not solely Flame Princess."

"I know!" Bubblegum whined, "But I was close to forgetting about it...again, but now I can't stop thinking about!"

"Did you tell Finn and Jake about it?" Marceline asked.

"Well..." Bubblegum said awkwardly, "I told them about the deal, but I didn't tell them about _anything else_."

"Well, are you gonna help them?" Marceline wondered.

Bubblegum folded her arms and pouted.

"Why should I help Flame Princess?" she voiced sourly.

"Because you still care," Marceline told her, "you know you still do."

PB muttered something under her breath.

"And it's obvious you still care," Marceline said, "other wise you wouldn't have kept _these_."

She opened the bottom drawer of Bubblegum's desk, which turned out to contain a number of pictures of Flame Princess, some of her and a younger Bubblegum.

"Look, I'm not gonna give anybody details about the shrouded parts of your history," Marceline affirmed, "but if you won't help them, _I_ will."

The Vampire Queen left, flying back out through the window; Bubblegum watched her friend leave, while thinking about what she said.

Marceline was hardly ten yard away from the castle when she was stopped.

"Wait, Marcy!" Bubblegum called as she ran to catch up with the vampiress.

"Well, that was quick." Marceline said.

"You're right," PB sighed reluctantly, "I do still care. Plus, I guess I should help, even if it kills me."

"Duh." Marceline stated.

* * *

Still going.


	10. Chapter 10

Catching On

Chapter 10

Moving on.

* * *

Finn and Jake were making their way through the Mountain Kingdom, trying to get to Marceline's house.

However, before they could get there, Marceline found them.

"Finn!" Marceline called.

"Marceline?" Finn responded, "How did you know we were here?"

"Vampire senses," Marceline said, "duh."

They noticed that Bubblegum was with her.

"What's going on?" Finn asked.

"I know what's going on with Flame Princess." Marceline said.

"Really?" Finn replied hopefully, "Will you tell us?"

"Yeah," Jake added, "tell us!"

Marceline was about to tell them, but suddenly she sensed an unwelcome presence. She looked passed her friends and hissed threateningly.

"What is it?" Finn wondered.

"Wait here." the vampiress instructed, then turned invisible.

At that same moment, Flame Princess's cousins Furnius and Torcho were hiding behind some nearby rocks, trying to over hear the conversation between the heroes.

"You think they know we're here?" Torcho asked his brother.

"Ssshut up!" Furnius hissed.

Just then, Marceline appeared before them.

"EAVESDROPPERS!" she growled.

"Where's Flame P-" Furnius started to demand, before Marceline went monster form and started spitting on them, which, being Fire Elementals, caused them a great deal of pain.

Finn, Jake, and PB rain over to investigate.

"What happened?" Jake asked anxiously.

"Hey, it's Flame Princess's cousins," Finn informed, "the ones that tried to kill her dad."

"Oh yeah," Jake said, "I remember."

Finn approached the Fire Elementals.

"What are you doing here?" he questions.

"Where'sss Flame Princessss?" Furnius growled.

"Tell us!" Torcho yelled.

"We don't know," Finn affirmed, "and even if we did, there's no way were telling you!"

"Why do you wanna know anyway?" Jake added.

"None of your businessss!" Furnius hissed.

While they were not paying attention, Bubblegum found a bunch of loose gravel and began to throw down handful after handful on them.

"Leave us alone!" PB shouted.

The cousins looked up at her.

"Well, would you look at this Torcho." Furnius quipped.

"If it isn't Princess Bubblegum." Torcho said.

Bubblegum looked on tensely, she did not expect them to recognize her.

"Last time we saw you, you were in the form of fourteen years," Torcho voiced, "one of the few non-flame people who willingly came toward the Fire Kingdom."

"Not to mention she and Flame Princessss were so thick they were practically conjoined," Furnius said, "sometimes literally. Surely she must know something."

"That was a long time ago!" Bubblegum yelled, "And I have no information for you, now leave!"

Before they could question anyone any further, Marceline took her giant bat form and started stomping, as if to step on them.

"FIRE IS EASILY SMOTHERED!" the Vampire Queen snarled.

The brothers had no choice but to flee the Mountain Kingdom, and they ran into the forest.

"Ugh, thisss is pointlessss!" Furnius groaned, "None of Flame Princess's allies will talk, we'll just have to find he ourselves."

"How are we gonna do that?" Torcho wondered.

"We'll sssearch everywhere," Furnius asserted, "we'll find her if we have to reduce every kingdom we search to ash!"

* * *

I know it's short, but I had to update.


	11. Chapter 11

Catching On

Chapter 11

Still going.

* * *

Following the encounter with Flame Princess's cousins, the group went into Marceline's house.

"Okay," Marceline said, "so now that the weird stuff is over, we can get down to business."

"How do you know what's going on, Marcy?" Finn wondered.

"Because I'm in on it." Marceline stated.

They found this surprising.

"And you," Jake questioned Princess Bubblegum, "what made you change your mind about helping us?"

"Marceline." Bubblegum answered flatly.

"FP's cousins knew who you were," Finn asserted, "just how close were you and Flame Princess?"

Bubblegum sighed heavily.

"We were...friends." she stated.

"To put it lightly." Marceline said quietly.

PB looked up at her.

"I heard that." she sighed.

"Tell them." Marceline said.

"Tell us what?" Finn wondered.

"The real story." Marceline told Bubblegum.

Bubblegum pouted and closed her eyes.

"If you won't," Marceline affirmed, "I will."

PB looked as if she was about to cry, then she relaxed and took a much-needed deep breath.

"Okay, okay," she submitted, "I'll talk, Flame Princess and I were once close friends, _best_ friends, friends with...benefits, and so on. Oh Grod, the things we did together."

Finn and Jake were confused.

"To put it simply," Bubblegum explained with effort, "Finn, we were about as close as you two _used _to be."

"But we used to date, and k..." Finn responded, before realizing what the princess met, "Oh...Grod."

"Yeah." Bubblegum said meekly.

"You don't strike me as the kind of girl who would...you know..." Jake said, "_like_ other girls."

"She was the only one, I don't know what it was," PB expressed, "but something about her seemed special to me, plus, there weren't many guys to go around, so we were like, "hey, why not, it doesn't hurt to try new things."

Finn and Jake looked at Marceline, who nodded, confirming the princess's statement.

"You an FP..." Finn said, "that's...actually not too hard to imagine."

"Yeah," Jake said, "in a complicated way, it makes no sense, but it also makes total sense."

"How else would I know what romance and affection would do to Flame Princess?" Bubblegum said flatly.

"And that's the part that made sense." Finn said.

Then he thought about it.

"Wait..." the human boy asked, "is that why you freaked out when we found out FP had a new boyfriend?"

Bubblegum did not respond.

"If that's the case," Jake added, "that would mean that you're..._jealous_."

"I just wish I wasn't the last one to find out," Bubblegum said, "she always kept secrets and she never took me seriously! That's what ruined everything, and then after finding out what "affection" did to her, I tried to make a deal with her, the deal where she would stay in the lamp and she ever found someone else, to at least tell me about in case there were any complications."

The heroes were back to confused.

"Why would you make someone take a deal like that?" Jake wondered.

"Jake, I think what we're looking at here is a failed test of respect." Finn replied quietly.

"Oh..." Jake said awkwardly.

"Did she actually agree to that?" Finn asked PB.

"I thought she did," Bubblegum said, "but I wouldn't put it passed her to reject the idea."

"I told you then, and I'll tell you now," Marceline sighed, "you can't _force _people to agree with your ideas, it's both impossible and unfair."

"I know!" PB groaned, "I was just trying to be responsible."

"And how did that work out for you?" Finn questioned.

"It didn't." Bubblegum said.

They decided that it was time to get back to the issue that mattered.

"You were saying, Marceline?" Finn asked his vampire lady.

"Flame Princess is now with...Water Prince." Marceline said.

The room went silent.

"Water Prince?" Finn spoke with interest, "Oh, so she's with a _real _prince now."

"Lucky girl." Jake quipped.

Bubblegum stood up.

"Water Prince," she voiced, "_Water _Prince? But he's a Water Elemental. How long have they been together?"

Marceline thought about it.

"Roughly a year...at least." she stated.

"A year!?" PB uttered, "She's kept her relationship with a Water Person a secret for a _year_!?"

"A full year of secret dating?" Jake voiced.

"That's pretty good." Finn said, impressed.

Bubblegum looked on appalled.

"Seriously!?" she replied, astounded, "You're not bothered by the fact that she left you for someone who could potentially kill her? Someone she's probably not even allowed to be with?"

"No, Pribs," Finn groaned, "I'm not."

"If Flame Princess has been with this guy for a year," Jake affirmed, "then they obviously must have it worked out."

"Yeah," Finn added, "and if they're able to look past the fact that they're opposites, and risk their own well beings, to be together, then I'm happy for them. So stop trying to make an issue of it and LET. It. _GO_!"

With that PB did not say another word.

Finn thought about it.

"So that must be why she's gone into hiding," Finn said, "if her cousins knew about her thing with Water Prince, they'd probably use it against her."

"Those guys are mega _jerkbags_!" Jake attested.

"Yeah;" Finn responded, "Marceline, do you know where Flame Princess is?"

Marceline nodded.

"She and Water Prince are hiding out on a secret island." the Vampire Queen stated.

"Great," Finn said, "we need to get to them, and let them know that we wanna help them."

"I'm down with that." Jake said in agreement.

They looked at PB.

"Don't worry," she sighed reluctantly, "I'm in."

"Shuz yeah you are." Finn stated.

* * *

Hopefully the next chapter will be better, this is all being made up on the spot. This is one of those stories that was not well thought out ahead of time and is now just being thrown together at random. I do not put all my effort into Fan fiction, because that would be pointless.


	12. Chapter 12

Catching On

Chapter 12

Still going.

So...how 'bout "Frost & Fire" huh, pretty interesting episode, FP vs. Ice King in those epic battles. Too bad FP and IK came out of both physically and emotionally damaged, I felt bad for them. There's no telling what will happen on show from here on out, all I know is, I will continue my TidalFlame ship regardless.

* * *

Once again Flame Princess and Water Prince were still hanging out on their little island hide out; after being there together for so long, they had stopped worrying as much as they used to and focused on enjoying themselves.

As they sat on the ground together, Flame Princess watched as Water Prince displayed his ability to change the temperature of his water at will.

"So you can just make water as cold or as hot as you want?" FP inquired, "How does that work?"

"It's all about molecules," Water Prince explained, "with good concentration I can manipulated the molecules in the water, if I increase the molecular motion of the water, it becomes hotter, but if I slow it down it become colder, and if I stop it completely, I can freeze it."

The prince held out his hand and created a sphere of water in his hand, then he used his power to freeze it.

"That is so cool." Flame Princess laughed.

Water Prince then reversed the transition, making the frozen water sphere melt in his grasp.

"I can do that too," Flame Princess said, "but it kinda hurts to do it, I'm used to touching the water now, but ice is still a bit of a challenge for me."

"Maybe we can fix that," Water Prince offered, "wanna try?"

"Definitely." Flame Princess replied surely.

She thought it would be cool to become the first Fire Elemental to become resistant to water and ice, granted, she may not become fully immune to them, but she would be able to withstand the substances longer any other Flame Person (in Ooo that is).

Water Prince created another ice sphere in his hands, making it the size of a marble.

Flame Princess held out her hand and Water Prince carefully placed the little ball of ice in the center of her hand.

"Think of it only as solid water," Water Prince told her, "that's basically all it is, just colder."

FP held the ice pellet in her hand, the frigid orb caused a pain that mirror the sensation of a non-fire elemental clutching hot coal in their hand, but even still, Flame Princess closed her trembling hand, clutching the melting ice orb tightly in her blazing fist. Soon she opened her hand and found that the ice ball had melted, but it left a black spot on her hand; she rubbed the black part of her hand with her other hand to make it right again.

"These kind of things take time," Flame Princess said, "after all, it took me a while to get used to water."

Water Prince smiled and Flame Princess smiled back, ready to kiss him again.

"Flame Princess!?" they heard, interrupting their kiss.

FP looked around quizzically, "Finn?"

Just then Finn and Jake along with Marceline and Princess Bubblegum approached them.

"Thank Grod we found you." Finn said with relief.

Flame Princess stood.

"How _did _you find me?" FP asked.

"Marceline told us everything." Finn admitted.

Marceline nodded guiltily.

"We were worried about you," Finn explained, "plus, your cousins are after you."

Flame Princess sighed.

"I know," she groaned, "those guys are still trying to get back at my dad for killing their dad and their trying to drag me into the middle, but I don't want any part of it. I had to come here because I didn't want them finding out about..." She turned to Water Prince, who slowly got to his feet with a tense look on his face.

"So _this_ is Water Prince." Finn voiced.

Water Prince looked away nervously.

"Yeah," Flame Princess whimpered, "he's my...boyfriend."

"Cool," Finn replied, "but why did you hide it from us, Princess?"

Hot lava tears began to flow from Flame Princess's eyes.

"I'm sorry," she sniffled, "I was afraid you would hate me."

"Hate you?" Finn responded confusedly, "For getting a new boyfriend? Why would I hate you, you found me a new girlfriend, of course I'm cool with you having a new boyfriend."

Flame Princess calmed down a little.

"I thought you would be mad that after breaking up with you," she expressed, "because our relationship was impossible, I chose to date Water Elemental, something that's generally forbidden."

"I'm not mad at you FP, I never was, you were right, we weren't working out at all," Finn assured her, "I don't care who you date as long as you're happy."

"Really?" FP replied, her eyes shimmering.

"Duh, I'm happy for you and I'll do whatever it takes to help you," Finn said, "because you're still one of my best friends in the world."

"Thanks." Flame Princess said contently.

It was then Flame Princess noticed Princess Bubblegum's presence.

"You?" she uttered.

"Hello, Flame Princess." Bubblegum said docilely.

There was a brief silence.

Flame Princess looked on flatly.

"So...what are you doing here?" she asked dryly.

"um...I'm with them." PB claimed.

Flame Princess looked on dubiously.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because I wanted to come along." PB replied

"_Why?_" Flame Princess asked more firmly, her flames swelling flaring up.

"Because I just wanted too," Bubblegum retorted, "does it even matter why?"

"Here it comes." Marceline groaned as the princesses glared at each other.

Finn quickly stepped in front of Flame Princess.

"Hey, Flame Princess," he voiced quickly, "how about me and you go over there and talk, catch up you know."

Flame Princess calmed down.

"Okay." she sighed.

They started walking away.

"Really," Marceline asked PB, "already?"

"I couldn't help it, okay," Bubblegum groaned, "when she starts, I start."

"Here's an idea," Marceline affirmed, "how about...you're an adult, so act like one!"

Bubblegum did not respond.

* * *

There, sorry I have not posted anything new in a while, I just got my new laptop hooked up and I am still getting used to it.


	13. Chapter 13

Catching On

Chapter 13

More stuff.

* * *

"So other than the madness going on now and the new relationship," Finn asked Flame Princess, "what's new with you?"

"A lot," Flame Princess said gladly, "I've started building a resistance to water, and..."

She wanted to mention the kiss thing, but she was afraid too.

"Go on." Finn urged.

"I..." Flame Princess said hesitantly, "I...can kiss Water Prince...with out upsetting my physical matrix."

Finn looked on blankly which made Flame Princess nervous.

Finn thought about it.

"That's great," he voiced, "but how does that work?"

"Well," FP explained, "when we kiss, we keep our arms around each other and the excitement makes my flames grow stronger, however, Water Prince's skin will excrete excessive amounts of water, which leaves me soaked and prevents our elemental matrixes from going haywire because I can't burn if I'm soaked and since my body absorbs his water and relaxes him at the same time, he can't cause natural disaster by accident."

"Which tier have you gotten to?" Jake asked eagerly.

"Jake!" Finn responded in a scolding tone.

"Nevermind." Jake said meekly.

Flame Princess smiled, then looked back at Water Prince, who was standing several yards away, and went to get him.

"Come on, Maels," she said, "come meet my friends."

"But, what if they don't like me?" Water Prince replied tensely.

"They will," Flame Princess assured, "trust me."

She took his hand and led him back towards the others; Water Prince was surprisingly nervous, as his hands became increasingly wet, which did not bother FP one bit.

"Guys," Flame Princess announced, "this is Maelstrom, the Water Prince; Maels, these are my friends Finn the Human and Jake the Dog."

"Hello, Prince." Finn said, while Jake waved.

"Hello." Water Prince said meekly.

"So, FP," Finn wondered, "how did you guys end up together."

"It's a long story." FP replied.

She then told them the whole story** (if you have read my fics "Liquidium" and "Aqueous Pursuit" then you know the story already so I won't repeat it). **With all the time that had past since her first encounter with Water Prince, Flame Princess was able to tell the story in a more humorous tone.

Finn laughed.

"That sounds pretty similar to how it went down with us." he said, entertained by her story.

"Needless to say it took us like a week to clean up the mess following that night." Flame Princess giggled.

Water Prince simply nodded, his apparent shyness was new to Flame Princess, however, this was the first time she actually saw him meeting somebody for the first time. Of course, she knew it took him a while for someone to gain his trust, which could have explained why he kept running from her in the beginning.

Flame Princess continued to tell her friends about her many adventures and misadventures with Water Prince.

"It sounds like you guys have been having a lot of fun." Finn said.

"Yeah, we have," Flame Princess said, "it's been amazing."

"Best time of my life." Water Prince then said unexpectedly.

He knew what Flame Princess wanted to say, but she was afraid to say it because she did not want to make Finn feel bad. So he said it himself.

"I've never been so happy in all my life," Water Prince professed, "and never has anyone made me feel so alive." He winked at Flame Princess as if to say, "I got your back."

A thought then came too his mind.

"I gotta go see if Marceline has any news about my kingdom." Water Prince said.

He got up and went to talk to the Vampire Queen.

"I'm gonna go dig in the sand," Jake said, "see if there's anything weird buried on this island."

He went off and started digging the sand.

"So, Finn," Flame Princess asked, "are you really okay with all of this?"

"Yes, it's cool, okay!?" Finn uttered.

Flame Princess flinched.

"I'm sorry, FP," the human boy sighed, "it's just that Princess Bubblegum hasn't shut up about the whole thing, she thinks I should be offended by this, but I'm really not."

Flame Princess frowned.

"Are you serious?" she groaned, "_She's _the one who's offended, she's such a glorified baby, she can't let anything go. She's only mad because I never agreed to her stupid deal and she's jealous cause I've had better luck with boys."

The revelation left Finn baffled.

"But," he responded, "but, she said the deal was a mutual understanding, that you agreed to tell her if you ever had another...relationship."

"I never agreed to anything," Flame Princess affirmed, "she probably had it in her head that I agreed, but I never did. That's her biggest problem, if she doesn't get her way, she goes into self righteousness-mode and makes you look like the one who's wrong, like everything's your fault."

Finn was not quite sure what to say.

"To put it simply, Finn," Flame Princess proclaimed, "Bubblegum is a pompous jenny."

"What?" Finn responded in confusion.

"She's an-" FP whispered the rest in his ear.

"Oh," Finn said in response, "...wow."

"Yeah." Flame Princess stated.

* * *

I know this chapter seems unnecessary, but I wanted to show the FP and PB tension from Flame Princess's point of view.

Also, a "jenny" is a female donkey, so from that you can probably get what FP was trying to call PB.

One more thing, I know I have said this time and time again, but once more I guess. Guys, if you do not like the pairings I use then DO NOT LOOK AT OR COMMENT ON MY WORK! SERIOUSLY, YOU HAVE THE OPTION TO JUST LOOK AWAY! I say this because I just had to deal with some jerk on deviantart who flamed my TidalFlame work, saying the pairing was "stupid", "retarded", and "a shame", I am not joking, the person actually labeled it "retarded" and "a shame". The person also went on and on about how it made no sense and was impossible, when really, do any of the AT pairings really make complete sense? Plus, this is fan work, we can do whatever we want...right?


	14. Chapter 14

Catching On

Chapter 14

Still going.

* * *

"So," Flame Princess asked Finn, "how have you been with Marceline?"

"Awesome," Finn said, "we've hung out a lot; we're still waiting until my age catches up with hers till we get super serious, but that doesn't stop us from having a blast."

"I'm glad," Flame Princess said sincerely, "I bet you'll be her king someday."

"King?" Finn replied, suddenly remembering something, "Aw man, I just remembered, your dad's looking for you, Flame Princess."

"Oh what?" FP responded, "Are you serious?"

"Yeah," Finn said, "we stopped by your house while you were gone and he came through your candles to see of you were there, when he saw that you were gone, he ordered us to find you."

"No," Flame Princess said fearfully, "I don't wanna go back!"

"Don't worry, FP," Finn said, "that's not gonna happen, we're gonna stick around and help you out so you won't have to go back."

"Thanks, Finn," FP said gratefully, her tone dropping as she spoke, "you're a great friend...unlike some people."

Meanwhile, Jake was digging in the sand, deep in a hole he had dug.

"What are you doing?" Water Prince asked the dog.

Jake looked up out of his hole.

"Digging." he stated.

"Well, if you're looking to find anything," Water Prince said, "you're out of luck, Flame Princess and I already scoped the entire island."

"Oh," Jake replied, "did you find anything good?"

"Just some old junk and worthless stones." the prince stated.

"Bummer." Jake responded.

Water Prince looked over at Marceline who was standing next to Princess Bubblegum, who looked quite irritated. Water Prince remembered hearing stories about the pink princess from Flame Princess, going into great detail about "stuff" they did together, and as he observed the older princess Water Prince could not help but wonder...why? He wondered what could have drawn FP to the bubblegum girl, for he did not see much to look at. In his eyes, Princess Bubblegum was not ugly, far from it, but she looked rather plain, nothing special. To Water Prince, PB did not look like a princess, she looked more like a lazy lab experiment. When he heard her speak to Marceline, he was even more thrown off by her voice, for to him, Princess Bubblegum did not even sound like a princess, she sounded more like a child trying to make herself _sound_ like an adult. In the end, all he could think was that there was nothing all that special about Bubblegum, she just seemed like the kind of person who was just...there, like an old lamp, sure she could serve a purpose, but she could easily be replaced with something much better.

"I don't get it." he said aloud.

* * *

Another new chapter, hopefully more will happen in the next one.


End file.
